LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Our latest Jefferson Award winner has found a unique way to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is helping others learn to create as they learn to cope. Tonight's featured winner is David Bates.
"Being a veteran, it's easier to talk to another veteran about your issues than a doctor that doesn't know what you have been through," says David Bates, president and founder of Warriors Way.
David Bates served in the United States Army from 2006 to 2012, with multiple deployments to Iraq. When his military service was over, he decided to serve another way, helping veterans transition to being civilians and deal with mental health issues like PTSD.
"The VA says you need a hobby with PTSD when you retire—something to keep your mind busy. Because if you don't keep your mind busy, you get into some really dark places," adds Bates. "And so, the VA, my wife, everyone is like, You need a hobby. So, I seen "Forged in Fire" on TV, I was like, 'Hey, I can do that.' I started doing it, and then I found joy in doing it, I slowly started bringing other veterans in to start working with me."
In 2019, Warriors Way was created to help veterans, first responders, and youth through knife-making and blacksmithing. Bates says you can see a change in people as they progress through the program, and they rediscover their passion and light by working over the fire.
"Military people understand military people and watching them connect with no words; this isn't a giant Kumbaya session where we are all holding hands and talking to each other," says Jeffrey Dauterman, chief marketing officer and chief civilian liaison for Warriors Way. "This is a session where they come in and hit hot steel with a hammer, or they use the forge presses behind me. They just absolutely work their aggression and their anger out, and he teaches them how to do it safely, and then he follows up with them afterwards."
"It gives them that motivation, mission, and sense of purpose again. The most rewarding experience is the 28 veterans that we have helped that are still are still alive today that they have gotten their purpose back in life. We have helped guide them to a better place to get help from the VA or from one of the local hospitals," says Bates.
"There is a mantra that we have that he has taught me, 'One More.' One more day, one more person, one more time—I'll try. And at the end of the day, hearing that we have saved 28 lives through that. That's all the stuff that he works through every day. It's an amazing thing to be a part of," says Dauterman.
That was David Bates, one of your 2024 Jefferson Award winners.
